Penelope Cruz would not have taken on her new role as Donatella Versace without the fashion mogul’s consent.

The Spanish actress portrays the haute couture legend in Ryan Murphy’s forthcoming TV series The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, which chronicles the 1997 murder of Donatella’s brother in Miami.

The Versace family issued a statement about the program on Monday, disowning the show and labelling it a “work of fiction” they did not authorize, but Cruz says she did her due diligence before committing to the project by seeking out Donatella’s personal blessing.

“I made that phone call to her because when Ryan (Murphy) called me, I said to him, ‘I have all the reasons to say yes to this, an amazing project,’ and I heard that he was going to do it with respect for the family – that was important for me,” she explains to Extra. “I made the phone call. It was one hour where we spoke about a lot of things, about things that she told me about her life and she also said, ‘If somebody is going to play me, I am very happy that it is you,’ and for me, if I wouldn’t have heard those words, I wouldn’t have done it.”

Cruz made it a point to depict the role as accurately as possible.

“I had a lot of months of preparation…,” she admits. “The most important thing for me was to find her voice, because she speaks in a very special, particular way.”

Cruz hopes Donatella approves of her portrayal, even though she insists she’ll never watch the series.

“Now I just hope that all the love that I put into that performance – I do love her and all the people that work with her – and respect and admiration, all of that is there, I hope she will see that,” the actress shares.

The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story premieres in the U.S. on Jan. 17.

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